Welcome to Homeworld
by mawmawile
Summary: Homeworld, so acutely named, is the home of the gems. Gems have been made and shattered. Gems have rebelled and been rebelled against. Gems have betrayed and have been betrayed. This is not that story. This is not the story of how White Diamond came into being, or how Pink Diamond came out of being. This is the story of the mundane, the average. Welcome to Homeworld. (Oneshots)
1. The Statue

There was a statue in the courtyard. It was made of black basalt, bits and pieces of the sculpture chipped off. The statue was left to crumble for a few centuries, where then White Diamond would finally decide to send someone to repair it. Strange, it being a statue of the supreme Diamond herself.

That, itself, was debatable, though no gem would dare to do it under the statue's watchful eyes. Most gems hadn't seen White Diamond in person, but any depiction of her in murals and what have you showed a brilliant cut square in her forehead. The statue was awe-inspiring, but the gem was erroneously placed at the chest—of course, it couldn't be mistaken as Blue or Yellow Diamond.

What gem would be so important, argued most, that White Diamond herself continuously maintains the statue for thousands of years? Certainly the gem was in the wrong place, but every other feature matched the brilliant Diamond's aesthetic. Of course, White Diamond found the depiction so endearing despite (or even because of!) the error that she had kept the statue for millennia.

That was the reigning opinion amongst the art historians of Homeworld. Art historians in such a militaristic society needed some excitement, so they settled for snubbing proponents of the It's-Not-White-Diamond theory.

Kyanite Facet-16B Cabochon-A40 would vehemently deny that the statue was anyone but White Diamond. If pressed, she would say that White Diamond was simply interested in preserving artistic artifacts, despite any mistakes. Truthfully, art from the dawn of Era One simply bored her. If it wasn't uninspired and dull, then it was laughable with its religious themes that were now banned on Homeworld. She was much more interested in the art that surfaced upon the start of Era Two, may her benevolence Pink Diamond rest in peace.

Because of such, Kyanite A40 hadn't paid much mind to the statue. She always had somewhere to be, anyways, so thinking about it wouldn't be productive at all. Today was different, however.

The courtyard was blocked off for all but the most exclusive guests. Saying it like that made the whole affair sound fancier than it was, as only those important enough to matter but insignificant enough to have nothing to do attended. Nonetheless, the Starlight Troupe, a well-known group of sodalite dancers, were performing today. Kyanite was feeling bored, so she decided to show up.

While the dancers were certainly lovely, they were nothing to write Homeworld about. Kyanite felt her mind wandering as she sat near some twitchy agate. Bored out of her mind, yet too polite to leave, Kyanite found herself gazing up at the statue.

It was far larger than most gems, but smaller than even Pink Diamond, may she rest in peace. The statue stared straight ahead, arms held out as if in prayer. Her gem was rotated the same as the high Diamond's, but at her bosom.

It was true that the form was very similar to White Diamond. From the spiked hairstyle, the pointed shoulders, and even the cut of the gem, it was very clearly the almighty Diamond. Yet it was not the gem's location that caught Kyanite's eye, but the expression the gem wore. White Diamond was confident, the first gem and first leader of all. The statue had an unsteady face, eyes half-lidded and sad. The lips were opened slightly, just enough for a breath.

If this was truly the illuminated Diamond herself, what had made her so sad?

Kyanite gazed at it for the rest of the dance, mind muddled with thoughts such as this. She was shaken out of her reverie with the sudden applause. The Starlight Troupe had taken a bow, bright smiles on their blue faces. Kyanite shook her head, as if trying to expel her thoughts.

There are only three Diamonds, may Pink Diamond always be remembered fondly. Surely the statue was made by White Diamond's favored sculptor. Despite its flaws, it radiated with the perfection that was White Diamond.

She blinked as the other gems filtered out of the plaza… Wait, didn't she have a lecture scheduled for this hour? Cursing, Kyanite burst out of the courtyard, forgetting any thoughts on the statue.


	2. Flower

Jade Facet-4Y8 Cut-03 was one of the first jades to come out of her little Kindergarten on Homeworld. It was a mere group of 16 gems, blinking awake with the sudden light of being alive.

Although all gems know their purpose upon emerging, that doesn't mean they know how to perform it. Legend has it that White Diamond herself, having created the lustrous twin Diamonds, trained and taught them all they needed. Blue and Yellow Diamond used their knowledge to teach the lesser gems, who continued this cycle of learning.

Being the first batch of jades meant that they had to rely on another gem type. For them, this was a sole nephrite, colonizers, one who had never stepped foot outside of Homeworld.

Nephrite was skinny and had shaking hands, voice quiet whenever she spoke. Despite her nervousness, although, she was a good teacher. Even with her practical inexperience, Nephrite knew what she was talking about.

She had told them the reasons why jades were being made. Due to no fault of their own, many of the luminous Diamonds' colonies were haphazard, or even failed. The Diamonds were perfect, but they couldn't do everything. At that point, nephrites surveyed everything regarding colony sites: geobiological properties of a planet, and later the drainage and utilization of those resources once the colony got kicking.

Keeping track of all of that was fine for one nephrite crew if the planet was small or lacking in organic life. However, very few gems were produced then, else many would turn out defective or off-colored. Bigger or richer planets had the opposite problem; many gems could be produced without defects, but it was a challenge for the overseers.

With so much on their plate, and the diversity of the cosmos, it was difficult to tell biological and geological apart. Once they got that far, dealing with hostile life also became a hurdle. (While Diamonds were indestructible, nephrites were not Diamonds.)

So that's why the jades were made: to act as the go-to for organic life, gradually turning the nephrites into just the managers of the whole shebang. Other such experimental groups of gems were being created and indoctrinated at this very moment, Nephrite told them.

Five weeks after the jades' emergence, Nephrite had come in carrying a round container with green tendrils poking out from the top. A divergence from her usual nervousness, she seemed excited to be showing this off.

Nephrite placed the container down, and waited for one of the jades to say something. Eventually, Jade 16 spoke, cautiously stepping towards the pot. "What… is that thing?"

"It's _organic_ ," Nephrite said, nearly bouncing on her heels. "I've convinced her lustrousness Blue Diamond to offer a sample from one of her colonies."

Hesitantly, Jade 03 stepped forward to peer into the pot. What could be called wires were wrapped tightly around everything, holding tight onto the rim. At some points, the green wires would jut out and a dull yellow growth would sit on top. "Isn't it supposed to move?"

"It _does_ move, albeit very slowly," said Nephrite. "Since it doesn't have access to its planet resources, it can only survive for a few days before dying. So, we don't have much time to learn from it."

Jade bent down and reached for the yellow growths with a nervous hand. She was a gem, what's the worst this thing could do to her? She pulled it off and squeezed it between her pointer finger and thumb, feeling water spill out. "It's… wet?"

"You've heard of lapis lazulis, haven't you?" Nephrite asked, scooping up the pot. "That's why they're so important in colonization. Many organic creatures require liquid water to survive."

"Organic life is so odd." 16 crumpled up her nose in disgust. "If studying them didn't mean the betterment of gemkind…"

"Don't say things like that!" chastised Jade 09, soft spoken and airy. "While gems are superior to any organic being, we do need them to be created."

16 and 09 argued about that, Nephrite stepping back into her old role as the anxious instructor. Jade wasn't listening, turning the flower around in her hands. As she did so, her fingers became moist and covered in a thin yellow dust. She twisted it around until it eventually disintegrated under her touch, a sweet scent in her hands.


End file.
